Rocking chair



c. C. wlTzEL.

ROCKING CHAIR Filed Feb.- 8, 1933 Patented Dec. 4, 1934 RooKING CHAIR Charles C. Witzel, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application February 8,

10 Claims.

This invention relates to rocking chairs and more particularly to that class known as oon- Vertible rocking chairs, the principal object of the invention being the provision of an improved convertible rocking chair in which the rockers, while located to engage the floor, do not project beyond the front and rear of the body or seat `of the chair, thereby doing away with the annoying and, at times, dangerous projections commonly found in rocking chairs.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved convertible chair which may be used as a rocking chair, a reclining chair Oras an ordinary chair at the option of the user and which, notwithstanding the shortened form of the rockers, cannot readily tip over.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved convertible chair, simplein construction, emoient in use, inexpensive to manufacture and which, without the adjustment of anyparts, can be readily converted by a slight motion of the body from an ordinary chair into a reclining chair `or into a rocking chair and in which the roclrers'do not project beyond the front and rear legs of the chair.

' Rocking chairs, as ordinarily constructed with the rockers engaging the iloor, have these rockers projecting forwardlyand rearwardly of the seat and theseprojecting portions are not merely annoying but dangerous to anyone moving about. Not only this, but they frequently mar and injure other articles of furniture, take up considerably more room than other chairs and are a nuisance generally. j

Therefore, the present improvement provides a ,rocking chair which will eliminate these disadvantages, take .up no more room than an ordinary chair, have no projecting portions that will injure or mar other furniture or injure or annoy anyone coming into contact therewith by day or night In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Fig. l is a side view of one form of this chair embodying thepresent improvement, the full lines illustrating the chair when used as an ordinary chair-and thedotted lines illustrating the same when used as a reclining chair, and

Fig. 2 is a similar `view but illustrates the chair when used as a rocker.

`Similar characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several views.

Before explaining in detail the present improvement andmode of, operation thereof, I desire to have it understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and ar- 1933, serial No. 655,706 (o1. 155-69) rangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which I employ is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

' This improvement may be applied to various forms of chairs and also to such other articles as may be provided with rockera In the present instance, it is applied to an upholstered chair having a seat 2, a back 3 and arms 4 forming what may be considered the body of the chair. Y The base of the seat is provided with a pair of depending front legs 5 and a pairof depending rearwardly inclined legs 6.

Intersecting a front and rear leg at each side of the chair is a runner or rocker 7 and, as shown, this rocker terminates preferably inside the rear leg and extends under the front leg, being formedwith a comparatively short rear curved portion merging into a relatively long straight portion 9 terminating in Aa slightly inclined portion at the front end 10.

The weight of the body of the userusually comes fairly close to or at the back of the chair and consequently is approximately in line with that part of the rocker adjacent towhere the curved and straight portions thereof meet. The result of thisis that when the occupant sits normally in the chair, the straight portion of the rocker will engage the iloor and the chair can be used as a stationary or ordinary chair. When, however, the occupant leans slightly back, the curved portion of,V the rocker is brought into engagement with `the oor, whereupon the chair can be used as a` rocker and when he leans farther back, the chair can be tilted to the rear and used as a reclining chair, in which position, the lower ends 11 of the rear legs which project slightly below the rockers, will engage the floor and stop the tilting of the chair any farther and also prevent tipping over.

Experimenthas demonstrated that only a comparatively small portion of the ordinary rocker of a chair engages the floor so that a considerable portion of the rocker does not perform any work and is a waste of material and, by actual test, it has been found that the comparatively small rocking portions of this chair are amply sufficient to provide a full rocking action of the chair so that this improved chair can be readily converted from the ordinary chair into a rocking chair or into a reclining chair at the will of the user by a slight motion of the body and without the addition of any mechanism or the adjustment of any part of the chair.

Thus, I have provided an improved chair which lice lio

is readily convertible from an ordinary chair to a rocking chair or into a reclining chair and in which the rockers do not project beyond the front and back of the seat, whereby less material is required and the cost of manufacture is materially lessened without in any way interfering with the emciency of the chair.

One of the advantages of this improved chair is that it can be moved around on its rockers or runners over a rug or the edges of a rug by a woman very easily without the necessity of lifting the chair as is the case with the ordinary four-leg heavy upholstered chair. Another of its advantages is that it has all of the comforts of the old style Morris chair when it is tilted without its unsightly appearance and the necessity of adjusting the back and is much more easily handled.

It is to be understood that, by describing in detail herein any particular form, structure or arrangement, it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior art.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a seat provided with legs connected by rockers, each rocker terminating at the legs so as not to project therebeyond and not substantially beyond the seat base, said rockers having an integral floor engaging part between the legs constructed to hold the article in an upright position, another part integral therewith between the legs constructed to rock the article and another integral part constructed to co-operate with the rear legs to hold the article in a reclining or tilting position.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a seat provided with legs connected by rockers, each rocker terminating at the legs so as not to project therebeyond and not substantially beyond the seat base, said rockers having an integral floor engaging part between the legs constructed to hold the article in an upright position, another part integral therewith between the legs constructed to rock the article and another integral part constructed to co-operate with the rear legs to hold the article in a reclining or tilting position, the rocking parts being located between the other parts and toward the rear of the rockers.

3. A convertible chair comprising a seat and front and rear legs provided with rigid rocking members supporting said legs and terminating thereat, thereby eliminating obstructions beyond the front and rear of said legs and substantially beyond the seat base, each rocking member comprising a one piece member having a straight portion to hold the chair in its normal position and terminating in a curved portion for rocking movement of the chair and terminating in a portion co-operating with a rear leg to hold the chair in a tilted position, all of said portions being within the limits of the front and rear legs.

4. A convertible chair comprising a seat having depending front and rear legs, a pair of rockers connecting the lower ends of said legs and terminating thereat and not projecting substantially beyond the seat base and extending under the front legs, each of said rockers having a comparatively short rear curved portion terminating a relatively long straight portion, the curved portion extending upwardly and joining the rear leg above the terminus thereof.

5. A convertible chair comprising a seat having depending front and rear legs, a pair of rockers connecting the lower ends of said legs and terminating thereat and not projecting substantially beyond the seat base and extending under the front legs, each of said rockers having a comparatively short rear curved portion terminating a relatively long straight portion, the curved portion extending upwardly and joining the rear leg above the terminus thereof, the rear legs projecting below the rockers and forming stops.

6. A convertible chair comprising a seat having depending front legs and rearwardly inclined rear legs, a pair of rockers connecting the ends of said legs and terminating thereat and not projecting substantially beyond the seat base and extending under the front legs, the rear legs projecting below the rockers and forming stops, each of said rockers having a comparatively short rear curved portion terminating a comparatively long straight portion in front thereof.

7. An article of manufacture comprising a seat provided with rockers in position to engage the floor and terminating within the limits of the front and rear legs whereby the rockers do not project therebeyond and not substantially beyond the seat base, each of the rockers having its rocking portion adjacent to the rear end thereof and closer to the rear legs than to the front legs and terminating in a stop to permit the article to be tilted into a reclining position, said stop being spaced below the rear terminus of the rocker.

8. A chair having front and rear legs, rocker elements extending between the front and rear legs and terminating within the connes of said front and rear legs, each of said rocker elements having an elongated straight front portion and a relatively short upwardly curved rear portion, and the rear leg being extended and projecting below the rear end of said rocker element to form a stop and to stabilize said chair in rearward position.

9. A chair having front and rear legs, rocker elements extending between the front and rear legs and terminating within the confines of said front and rear legs whereby the rockers do not project therebeyond, each of said rocker elements having an elongated straight front portion and an upwardly curved rear portion, said chair having a part projecting below each of said rocker elements adjacent to its rear end to form a stop and to stabilize said chair in rearward position, whereby the chair may be used as a straight chair, a rocking chair or a reclining chair.

1G. An article of manufacture comprising a body having a seat, depending front and rear supporting members or legs, rocker elements carried thereby and having no relatively movable parts, each of said rocker elements having an elongated straight portion and a shorter curved portion of less than half the length of said straight portion and not extending substantially beyond the depending members or body whereby the body will always remain in a nor- 

